These difficult cars have finally gotten the development they didn’t get when racing in anger and have become superb vintage racers {vsig}2008-8_2214{/vsig} In 1968, the rules for sports car racing were changed, limiting Group 6 prototypes to a maximum 3-liter engine capacity. For the 1970 season, Ferrari decided to do […]
Columns
The Dandy Griffith
Unlike the environmentally conscious, fuel-sipping, ultra-low emissions, and utterly boring “hybrid” cars of today, a whole different group deserved that name in the 1960s. They consisted of European sports cars that fell into the hands of cottage industry “manufacturers,” which took Italian and British sports car sophistication (or lack thereof) […]
Making Sense of $43 Million at Maranello
Buyers will pay over the odds for a perfect, no stories road car just to feel they have the best available {vsig}2008-8_2210{/vsig} Machiavelli was Italian. So were Mussolini and Enzo Ferrari (not that I’m comparing them). And although he isn’t, Scuderia Ferrari’s director Jean Todt has probably lived there long […]
1976 Lagonda V8 Series 1 Saloon
What’s interesting about “007” is that it has been hot-rodded, modernized, and neutered of its ZF 5-speed {vsig}2008-8_2208{/vsig} Lagonda had been dormant for a decade when Aston Martin revived the marque in 1974 as the model name for a sensational new four-door sedan based on the existing V8 coupe. Launched […]
1966 Maserati Mistral 4000 Spyder
Unless and until a U.S. owner wants to ship a car to Europe to sell, don’t consider this the price you can get here {vsig}2008-8_2209{/vsig} Last of the classic 6-cylinder Maseratis, the Pietro Frua-styled Mistral commenced production in 1963. The 3.7-liter version of the Modena manufacturer’s long-stroke engine was fitted […]
Reality Bites Hulk Hogan
Hogan signed his son Nick’s driver’s license application, and will likely be held liable for injuries attributable to Nick’s negligence {vsig}2008-8_2213{/vsig} Hulk Hogan and his family are currently defending a multi-million-dollar lawsuit that arose from his son Nick’s crash of his modified Toyota Supra. The crash left his passenger and […]
Sorry, You Can’t Get That Part Here
Much has been written-both positive and negative-about Ferrari Classiche, the arm of Ferrari set up as an official certifying organization for its cars. For decades, Ferrari had no interest in the older cars and only pricked up its ears (and its legal department’s pens) when the elusive William Favre began […]
How One Little Car Brought Down An Empire
Conservatives bolstered Rootes fortunes in the ’50s, but Labor and the Hillman Imp doomed it in the ’60s Of all the sad sagas told about the collapse of the British automotive industry, none is more depressing than that of the Rootes Group, and the once-respected marques it took down with […]
The Speedster Spell
Ferry Porsche considered Speedsters silly cars, but Europeans love them and have been buying them for a decade What is it about the Speedster that has caused prices to rise to unheard-of levels? While other 356s and Porsches in general continue on a solid upward trend, Speedsters seem to be […]
Ford’s Sleeping Beasty
The Pantera was legendary for either killing famous owners or inciting them to violence-Elvis pumped a .38 caliber slug into his {vsig}2008-8_2204{/vsig} By the late 1960s, Ford seemed to be concentrating more on holding grudges than building cars. Still smarting from its failure to acquire Ferrari, Ford grabbed a weak […]